I always loved to paint. It was my release.

From my toddler days of finger painting,

to finding my love of oil painting at VCU Arts,

to learning to "love/hate" watercolor...

 

Here is a little look into my painting evolution.

 

In college I loved oil painting. I hated watercolor. To me, watercolor, was harder because there was less room for moving things around and edit. I am someone who is slightly afraid of commitment. BUT I am not afraid of the challenge that commitment creates. In painting, sure, you could "release" watercolor but it wasn't the same as covering it up, and starting new. 

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I really liked the control I had with oils. I liked the opaqueness and the thickness and the weird smell of oil paint. Watercolor felt the opposite, loose, translucent and calculated.  In watercolor, you need to decide before you even begin painting, what sections you want to leave untreated. 

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I am more of a "let's see how this plays out kinda person". So pushing and pulling, layering and adding were my thing. This was true of my younger art years, and in a different way, me in my adult life. 

For a few years I took a break from painting. 

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I had a young family, and anything I created was something I crafted for them.

 As an adult, I revisited watercolor. I felt like it was something I needed to retry, maybe even conquer.

 

So I took a few classes. 

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I bought EVERY form of watercolor there is. 

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And now, I find watercolor intriguing, not totally intimidating.

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The fluidity is enjoyable and frustrating at the same time. I still panic with leaving areas white. I prefer bolder colors to subtle. BUT. I have really enjoyed venturing into other watercolor products: water color pencils, watercolor markers, chalk pastels mixed with water, masking fluid and opaque gouache. 

My favorite thing though- I really love  mixing one kind of paint with another paint, or using a certain kinda paint in a different manor. I love mixing watercolor with acrylics, or using watercolor in a bold fashion (no white paper showing).

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And texture!  Most of my recent paintings have integrated the use of something to create something coming slightly off of the page. I will often use air dry clay, resin and spackle to create different effects, I love the unexpected twist they provide to a two-dimensional painting.

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I hope you enjoy looking at some of my works. I love that after many years of not painting, I have come back to it, and still love every minute of it. 

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Enjoy it enjoy the process.